Life is not a, "Fixer Upper."
HGTV. Fixer Upper. Chip and Joanna.
While I do not subscribe to a cable company I watch episodes of Fixer Upper whenever I can. It has become one of my most favorite shows. You can find season one on Netflix by the way! I love how Chip and Joanna take the most run down house on the block and turn it into something absolutely delightful. Joanna's decorating taste is clean and beautiful. Her attention to detail, admirable. I think we would be friends if I lived in Texas or she in Michigan!
Recently I have been confronted with needing to take a look at my time management and possibly the level of stress in my life. I ended up having a migraine headache for a week that resulted in admission to the hospital due to stroke like symptoms. It was terrifying and something that I do not wish to ever repeat. As I realized I need to be more intentional about how I use my time I became discouraged. It is not as if I can take my husbands doctoral program away, send my kids away, or quite working! I felt lost. I found myself on a walk one day having quite the mental conversation with...myself. I was trying to compartmentalize and plan out exactly how I can better manage my time, take care of my family, take care of myself, fulfill all my external responsibilites and the list went on. I was really trying to put everything in a perfectly timed box of how I would live my life to better manage my time. Then the Lord spoke to me, "Life is not a Fixer Upper."
Life is not a broken down house to be made over in a short time and look perfectly and absolutely beautiful. How many times do we view life that way, though? How many times do we say, "This needs to change. Which area needs a little sprucing up? What wall can I break down next?"
As I continued my walk I realized that I was really trying to take my, what felt then, broken down life and fix it to make it perfect and beautiful. The Lord was faithful to remind me that it is not about feeling perfect in the depths of our heart it is about allowing God to lead us, daily, in the depths of our heart. Life is about lining ourselves up each day and saying, "Lead me Lord. Help me to be faithful to your guidance. Help me to quiet myself to hear you."
While this concept of trying to not "fix" my life and plan out all my time was freeing, I still felt lost. So I began to pray, "Lord, teach me how to better take care of my family, of myself, and those around me. Teach me what that looks like amidst our daily circumstances." I do not have answers yet and I really don't know what that looks like however; I do have peace and freedom. I praise the Lord that He does not leave us to figure out life on our own or to live perfectly but He gently leads us and guides us each and every day.
Life is not a Fixer Upper. We can not take our broken down life and turn it into something beautiful on our own. You know who can? Our precious Lord and Savior. It may not look like what we pictured but it will be right, peaceful, and perfect in God's eyes. The peace God offers us is far more precious than the perfection we try to obtain. Allow him to work freely in you today, your life is not your own to shape, design, and plan. Allow God to
do all He created you to do. It starts by praying, "Lord, teach me..."
While I do not subscribe to a cable company I watch episodes of Fixer Upper whenever I can. It has become one of my most favorite shows. You can find season one on Netflix by the way! I love how Chip and Joanna take the most run down house on the block and turn it into something absolutely delightful. Joanna's decorating taste is clean and beautiful. Her attention to detail, admirable. I think we would be friends if I lived in Texas or she in Michigan!Recently I have been confronted with needing to take a look at my time management and possibly the level of stress in my life. I ended up having a migraine headache for a week that resulted in admission to the hospital due to stroke like symptoms. It was terrifying and something that I do not wish to ever repeat. As I realized I need to be more intentional about how I use my time I became discouraged. It is not as if I can take my husbands doctoral program away, send my kids away, or quite working! I felt lost. I found myself on a walk one day having quite the mental conversation with...myself. I was trying to compartmentalize and plan out exactly how I can better manage my time, take care of my family, take care of myself, fulfill all my external responsibilites and the list went on. I was really trying to put everything in a perfectly timed box of how I would live my life to better manage my time. Then the Lord spoke to me, "Life is not a Fixer Upper."
Life is not a broken down house to be made over in a short time and look perfectly and absolutely beautiful. How many times do we view life that way, though? How many times do we say, "This needs to change. Which area needs a little sprucing up? What wall can I break down next?"
As I continued my walk I realized that I was really trying to take my, what felt then, broken down life and fix it to make it perfect and beautiful. The Lord was faithful to remind me that it is not about feeling perfect in the depths of our heart it is about allowing God to lead us, daily, in the depths of our heart. Life is about lining ourselves up each day and saying, "Lead me Lord. Help me to be faithful to your guidance. Help me to quiet myself to hear you."
While this concept of trying to not "fix" my life and plan out all my time was freeing, I still felt lost. So I began to pray, "Lord, teach me how to better take care of my family, of myself, and those around me. Teach me what that looks like amidst our daily circumstances." I do not have answers yet and I really don't know what that looks like however; I do have peace and freedom. I praise the Lord that He does not leave us to figure out life on our own or to live perfectly but He gently leads us and guides us each and every day.
Life is not a Fixer Upper. We can not take our broken down life and turn it into something beautiful on our own. You know who can? Our precious Lord and Savior. It may not look like what we pictured but it will be right, peaceful, and perfect in God's eyes. The peace God offers us is far more precious than the perfection we try to obtain. Allow him to work freely in you today, your life is not your own to shape, design, and plan. Allow God to
do all He created you to do. It starts by praying, "Lord, teach me..."
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